The day after she scored 34 points to help the Lady Lions clinch the Big Ten Conference title, junior Maggie Lucas was named the Big Ten Player of the Year by both the coaches and the media.

Lucas, a native of Narberth, Pa., was also a unanimous first team All-Big Ten selection by the coaches and is the third player in program history to win Player of the Year. The All-America candidate is third in the Big Ten in scoring average with 20.5 points per game and is top-5 nationally in three-point percentage (47 percent). She won Big Ten Player of the Week three times and currently ranks seventh in program history with 1,769 points.

In addition, Head Coach Coquese Washington was named Coach of the Year by the media for the second year in a row. The Lady Lions have increased their Big Ten win total in each of Washington’s six seasons as head coach and have been ranked in the Associated Press Top 10 for the entire season.

Senior guard Alex Bentley was named to the All-Big Ten first team for the third time in her career as well as picked to the Big Ten All-Defensive team. Bentley, currently ninth in Lady Lions history in scoring, is at the top of the charts with 3.7 steals and 3.6 assists per game, and scoring 14.0 points on average.

Senior forward Nikki Greene was named to the All-Big Ten third team by the coaches and honorable mention by the media. Greene, who became the 35th Lady Lion to score 1,000 points in her career, currently ranks second in Penn State history with 210 blocks and fourth with 961 rebounds.

Junior Dara Taylor was also named to the Big Ten All-Defensive team. Taylor, in her first season as a Lady Lion, grabbed 72 steals in just 28 games, adding on to Penn State’s defensive edge with help from Bentley.

Additionally, senior Gizelle Studevent, a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, was awarded the Sportsmanship Award for the Lady Lions

The Lady Lions finished up the regular season last night with an exciting win over Nebraska to clinch sole possession of the Big Ten Conference title. They begin play in the Big Ten Tournament on Friday.